Lady in the Water
by Green Bunny
Summary: Beast hooks a most unusual fish. Written for Shock777's amazing AU Teen Titans fantasy world on Tumblr. As she makes more pictures there's a good chance I'll be inspired to add on to this.
1. Hooked

Shock did this to me. This is… all your fault for showing me pretties. It's a snippet. Para ti.

Um. Sorry if it's not what you expected. *scratches the back of her head*

A tiny gasp startled him, causing him to nearly fling his fishing rod away from him in fright. Green eyes scanned the line of spindly grass behind him, searching out the source of the sound. The salt-tinged wind carried not the slightest hint of any other presence. Yet, he swore his sensitive ears had picked up _something_.

"Hu-hullo?"

The only answer was the faint lapping of waves against his green shins. When several minutes passed without incident, the elf shrugged and gave a tug to the rod. The line met resistance, followed very quickly by another sharp gasp.

Beast yelped as the line suddenly jerked, yanking him forward. He stumbled in the shallows, water splashing up his legs to soak the ends of his rolled-up breeches. The fish continued to pull, stronger than he'd ever felt before. Planting his feet, he leaned backwards and clutched at the rod for dear life. The sand provided little traction and he found himself digging in his heels to slow his forward movement.

His line was going to snap soon. He had to do something! Beast shifted his stance, spreading his legs a bit further, knees bent. Squaring his shoulders, the green boy gave a great heave, jerking his hands up and back.

Several yards away something breached the surface of the water. In the half-light of the waxing moon he could barely make out a dark shape against the night sky. Droplets burst around it, catching moonlight to glitter like falling stars.

At the center of the spectacular display was a figure. Pale skin shimmered, outlining slender arms stretched upwards to the sky. Dark hair snapped wetly against her curving back. Lightning-quick she had turned towards him, already sinking back into the water. He caught a glimpse of black eyes glaring accusingly at him before they vanished beneath the waves. A second later a forked tail, larger than he had ever seen, rose up to slap the water. Then, it too, was gone.

Beast was left gaping in the shallows, nerveless hands still clutching his half-broken fishing rod.

It was his first encounter with the lady in the water.


	2. Ritual

I did a little on the spot RP thing for (and later WITH) Shock while she drew pictures on that cool streaming thingy that EVERYBODY should check out. Gavin was awesome enough to save the chat so I cleaned it up a little bit and posted.

Some things were changed for better flow, or embellished because I have more time to think and faff about. Those of you who saw the original, well, hopefully this is to your liking.

Shock, if you draw them spooning I will explode, very messily, all over my house. Fair warning.

0

From that night on he made it his mission in life to see the Lady in the Water. Every night (sans fishing rod) he was out there, knee deep in saltwater. Watching. Waiting. For a week he saw nothing. He waited until his green toes were pruny and his shins felt rubbery from the lapping waves.

Then, just before he was ready to give up, he caught movement. Not a wave or a fish. No, it was a bigger than a fish. Curvier than a wave.

The dark form in the water floated several yards out. Far too deep for him to go traipsing into the deep in his clothes. He fought the desire to tear everything off and go bounding in. No, this creature, this beauty, needed to be treated with care. Like the wild animals he knew so well, patience and persistence would be his reward.

For another week it was their ritual. Well, _he_ called it their ritual. He didn't know what she thought of it. She waited for him in the deeper waters, he stayed in the shallows. She was just a shadow. Barely moving, never breaching the surface. Somehow, though, she seemed to get a little closer each time. Beast was certain that one night soon she would close the distance between them.

One night soon, he would meet his Lady in the Water.

0

Beast was late. He had never been late before. Raven swam impatient laps along the sandbar for hours, peeking her head above the surface of the water every so often to check for him. His green feet failed to appear beneath the waves. Her concern intensified.

In the back of her mind she wondered, briefly, if he had finally lost interest in her. Somehow, the thought made something twist painfully in her chest. He had been so frustratingly _persistent_. At first she had been terribly offended. This strip of beach was her private sanctuary! What right did a scruffy green elf have invading it? She spent so many nights glaring daggers at his feet from beneath the surface. Intent on scaring him off with (what seemed to her) her obvious displeasure.

Yet, he came. Night after night he stood in the shallows, sometimes stock still and humming a tune. Other times he would stalk to and fro, plucking sea shells from the sand as he went. Somehow, his little things went from being obnoxious to almost… _endearing_. She found herself waiting for him, a foreign quickening beneath her sternum thrummed to life the moment his green feet broke the surface of the water. She wondered at the sensation. Rae had much time to herself to ponder what exactly it was she felt but never could she come up with a good answer.

That night she had finally resigned herself to ask her curious follower. That night she would find the courage to break her silence.

That night he failed to appear.

Hours passed. The moon hung high in the sky when she was struck with a thought. _Is this what that boy felt waiting for me?_ In the distance the reed grass wove a subtle dance in the wind.

And then it wasn't subtle at all. Beast was there, crashing through the underbrush, panting. "W-wait!" He yelped, waving his free hand towards the ocean, though his eyes had yet to locate her. He stumbled forward, collapsing to his knees in the sand. Blood dribbled from between his fingers, held tight to his shredded shoulder. An inky black stain had spread across the front of his once-white tunic, down along his arm to pool at his bent elbow.

Raven was on the move before her mind could catch up, her heart beating a frantic throb in her ears. The deep blue gave way to cerulean shallows and frothy waves. Her palms met sand, crawling her way up out of the water.

For his part, Beast tried to meet her half way. He managed to get his wobbly feet back under him. The scrapes on his shins protesting every painful movement he made. Her tail became deadweight as the water receded, yet she continued to drag herself forward. He stumbled a handful of steps closer. Then his world tunneled and he went down again.

He swore he heard his Lady cry out for him.

Raven crawled the few yards left between them. Sand bit into her elbows as she cursed the gods for the cruelties of gravity. She reached his head first, as he had fallen forward towards the water. With a great heave she hauled herself to his side, clutching his bloody face in her arms. Her wet hair dribbled on his face, rousing him from his stupor. The deepest emeralds she had ever seen blinked up at her blearily.

"H-hullo." His voice cracked when he spoke, pleasantly high of pitch. "S-sorry I took so long."

"You fool, what did you do to yourself?" Her voice, raspy with lack of use, whispered back.

"I...had to..." He coughed, pink tongue flicked out to taste the cut at the edge of his swollen lips. He winced. Her pretty gray features grew dim. At least the throbbing wound, courtesy of a spear jab, had been reduced to a faintly pulsing burn.

"No, don't speak!" Frantic tears pricked the edge of her vision. His clover skin was sickly pale, a sure sign of terrible blood loss. Rae clung to her fear, using it to force the tears onward. She barely heard his half-mumbled words as she focused inwards.

"Had to... lure them away." He cracked a grin, despite the fresh blood that broke free from his lips, tracing a dark path along his jaw. It slipped along his neck to pool in the dip of his collarbone.

The first of her tears tracked down her face, hesitating in the elegant curve of her jaw. They clung to her skin stubbornly for several seconds, seemingly hung in suspended animation. Finally, gravity, her one-time enemy pulled them away as glittering diamonds in the light of the moon. They burst on his cheek, still moving as he continued to chatter mindlessly at her.

"Uh, p-poachers. They were comin,'" he swallowed thickly. "So I led 'em on a merry chase...cept..."

"Except you got caught." Raven murmured, brushing a few matted green strands from his brow. The wounds were closing. Tears of relief began to flow, further speeding his recovery. "Fool. I could have taken care of myself. I could have hidden."

A smile lit his features, revealing glittering fangs in the night. "Couldn't risk it. I couldn't let them near...my Lady."

She huffed and gave his head a little shake. "Your Lady?"

"Uh?" It was hard to keep his eyes open. Though his wounds were closed his exhaustion could not be healed. He forced his weighted lids open to gaze at her. "Of course. You're my Lady."

Rae looked down at him, bewildered. "You can't claim me. You don't even know me."

Beast gave a noncommittal hum. "I know enough. I know what it's like."

"What it's like…?" Her head cocked to the side, sending a fresh shower of droplets over his cheeks. He scowled as the shock pulled him back towards consciousness again.

His eyes slid open to reveal slitted green pools, drowning in the wide blackness of his pupils. "I know what it's like... to be hunted." His eyes shifted away from her face to fix on some place far from her quiet strip of beach.

Her stomach twisted sharply. Images flooded her mind of glittering scales strung together on gold chains, dangling from the necks of leering poachers as they hauled in their terrible nets. Searching, searching, always for the females and their legendary tears.

"I thought they only hunted us." The words, so blushingly naïve, had tumbled past her lips before she could take them back.

The green boy gave a short, derisive snort. "Hmph. Hardly."

She waited for more information but the elf would give no more. Instead, he turned his face towards her warmth, burying his nose in the crook where her arm lay tucked against her side. Surrounded by her enchanting scent, he once more allowed sleep to take hold.

Rae watched as his breathing grew deeper and more drawn out. His eyes fully closed as sleep pulled him under. He was soaking wet now from her hair and arms dampening his ripped clothes. She winced at the ugly bloodstains. These wouldn't do. The green boy's only response was a tiny kitten snore. The wind kicked up, tossing her hair and ruffling his wet and bloody rags. He shivered in her arms, his face instinctively seeking her warmth.

Heat pooled in her cheeks. He was so warm. She wondered if the odd, fluttery feeling in her belly might be the emotion happiness. Another shiver drew her gaze downwards. He would be too cold. What could she do? Were those cretins going to come back and finish the job? They needed to move.

Her eyes shifted to the sky. The moon was hidden by some trees, but instinctively she knew tonight was a full moon. A small smile formed. "How convenient."

With her face tilted towards the moon she closed her eyes. Winds whirled around her as she wiggled away from his grasp. Shimmery scales faded to grey. Her long tail split and shortened. What was once her tailfins became feet and toes, stretching and curling into the sand. When finally her legs had been fully realized, Rae pushed herself slowly to her feet.

Standing on wobbly legs, she took a few exploratory steps around the Beast's sleeping form. When she felt confident enough she moved back over to his side. Staggering back over to him, she blushed and looked for clothes to cover her lower half. She tore off pieces of his shirt and breeches that had been shredded in his fight and fashioned it into a very short skirt.

He whimpered as her warmth left him. Lifting his face with eyes still closed to follow her scent. She was close, and it soothed his soul despite the chill in the air. Empty arms folded across his chest as he curled inwards to preserve his fading heat.

Rae sighed. For some reason her heart was beating fast. Was that what a heartbeat felt like? Long had it been since she felt anything. After leaving her colony, she couldn't help but feel loneliness, even if she told herself, repeatedly, she didn't need anyone.

With great care, she pulled him up into a sitting position, throwing his bony arms over her shoulders. It took a bit of wiggling and wobbling but the mermaid somehow managed to drag his limp form up over her back. Her hands tucked securely under his thighs as she rose on shaky feet. They needed to hide somewhere, but close enough to the water so that the next morning she could return to swim. Looking to her left, down the shore, her sharp eyes spotted a cove. The wind was picking up, and he began to shiver. Perhaps there were some trees she could hide him under with her?

Finally, the wind and movement roused him. He groaned and shook his green head. Exhaustion fogged his mind. His eyes blinked open to discover a bird's eye view of a grey-skinned shoulder. Strong arms kept him secured to a warm back. It seemed like such a strain to think. His Lady's scent was near and her heartbeat so comfortingly close he forgot to care. Slowly his eyes slid back shut and he welcomed the warm darkness again.

She found a cove of low-hanging trees off the shore a ways, but not too far for her to hinder her return to the water. She wobbled with him in her arms. He would nuzzle the junction of her neck and shoulder every once in a while and make the faintest sighing noises. Each time he did so it sent her heart racing into overdrive. She took him under the canopy of trees, found a soft patch of white sand, and laid him down gently.

The wind was calmer here, but the mist in the air from the ocean might cause him to get sick. Rae settled in next to him, for once thankful for the physiology that kept her body a few degrees warmer than the average human.

Her perfect curves fit like a missing puzzle piece against him. Her scent was everywhere and he curled his arms around her to draw her closer to him. His nose nudged until he'd settled his face against her neck, lips pressed to her frantically beating pulse. For the first time in a long time, he felt that he might be home.

She blushed. Not even knowing his name, she wanted to whisper it. What was this feeling? Her knees were knocking and it wasn't from the lack of using them.

"Too close..." She murmured, her voice a hair too breathy to be considered harsh. "Mister…?"

"Beast" He whispered dreamily against her skin. His arms tightened about her slender waist. His kind craved touch, closeness, and he had been without for so long. It was heaven.

"Beast." She hummed, desperately trying to ignore the fire building under her skin where his lips met her neck. "I'm glad you could h-help me, and I'm glad I helped you. B-but, perhaps it is time I went home, now?"

She had never felt this way before. Stuttering? Was that her thing? Of course not! She was always collected and calm. Something made her words stumble. Something sweet and terribly distracting and—Oh my-His touch! His touch awakened deep things in her. She'd felt the stirrings before, faintly, with _him_. The one she refused to think about. But nothing close to what she now felt for a near total stranger. It sent a terrible thrill up her spine, forming a tight knot of fear and longing in her belly.

"Stay." He hummed against her ear, his pleasant voice tightening the knot ever further. "Just a little longer." He was almost warm. Almost home. She couldn't leave yet. His arms tightened, squeezing, but not to the point of pain. His ebony-capped fingertips brushed faintly against her belly, raising gooseflesh in their wake.

She lifted her head and fought to suppress the tiny moan threatening release. Someone wanted her to stay. Someone didn't want her to leave. Didn't force her away. He held her close. So close that she could feel the steady beat of his heart through her back. She had never felt such closeness, such warmth. The aura he had was so bright she could feel it piercing the darkest reaches of her heart. Her cold hands slipped over his bony fingers, weaving together in a curious juxtaposition of green and grey. Although he was shorter than her, she felt like she was fully enveloped in him. She pulled him in closer and closer. Rae didn't know how to love but she wondered if the burning, coiling thing in her chest might be what she felt.

A rumbling purr started low in his chest. Nuzzling her neck, surrounded in her warmth, the last vestiges of his consciousness faded away. He was safe. He was warm. He was home.


	3. Stone

I'm trying to get this out before I go on my little excursion to Illinois to tell the universe I'm pregnant. If it seems a little rushed, I'm sorry!

Did Xaphrin or Capri ask me for more characters from Shock's AU? I can't remember. Well, whatever, here you go.

I figured "man" was slightly more probable slang than "dude." Artistic license, yeah?

I made a bunch of new crap up. Hopefully, ya'll like the new things I added to Shock's world.

0

It wasn't the worst predicament he'd been in. At least, that was what Beast kept telling himself.

Dangling twenty feet in the air, in a net, over a nigh-deserted road really wasn't so bad. From the smell of the ropes, the net had been left by poachers long ago. He knew he needn't worry about them coming back any time soon. The scent of human hands upon the hemp had long faded away. A sure sign that they had forgotten about this particular trap.

"Wish I hadn't dropped my knife." He pouted to no one, glaring at the offending object where it lay, glittering and useless, in the dirt directly below his bare feet. Taunting him.

He lifted his hands to his face and frowned at the dull, ebony claws tipping his fingers. "Wish you guys were sharper."

Granted, they _had_ been sharper, but Beast had gnawed the points to rounded nubs in a fit of nervous energy only a day earlier while he was bringing a book for his lady to read. He groaned and slapped his palm against his forehead. Releasing a resigned sigh he ran his tongue along his teeth once before leaning forward. He'd have to chew his way out of the net. _Again_. He hated doing that.

"At least I'm alone." He grunted before sinking the sharp points of his teeth into the dry hemp.

A mild earthquake suddenly caused the tree holding his net to shake. Caught unawares, the elf was unceremoniously dislodged from the rope he had been chewing on. His teeth clacked down hard as he was jangled about in his net. He managed not to bite his tongue, but failed to miss sinking a pointed canine into his lower lip.

The green boy yelped and clutched his jaw, cursing the forest spirits for his terrible luck. He scowled and dabbed at his bloody lip with the corner of his sleeve as he tasted copper.

"Great. Now it's gonna hurt to chew. Lucky me." He huffed and leaned forwards again, this time with ears quirked forward to listen for the tell-tale signs of aftershocks. At least the clouds had rolled in and he hung in relative shade. The tree he was attached to was half-dead and leafless, without clouds he would have been forced to endure the sun's rays beating down relentlessly on his skin.

The scent of crushed apples and peppered limes caused the elf to sneeze. The unexpected reaction caused him to miss the rope entirely, slamming his nose into the taut hemp in his mouth's stead. He yowled loud, rearing back from his work to cup his hand over the abused appendage.

Beast swore in his native language, cursing the poachers, bloody rope, terrible luck, butchers, fishmongers, and anything else that rankled him. He had quite a list going when a deep, gravelly voice interrupted his tirade.

"You, elf, are trespassing." His voice seemed to boom off the craggy, moss-covered boulders surrounding them.

In too foul a mood to bother, Beast waved a green hand dismissively, one hand gingerly pinching the bridge of his bruised nose. "I'll be off your land in a snap, man. I'm a little busy here."

Evidently, his answer had been unexpected, as the voice was silent for several minutes. Beast took it as an opportunity to get back to work sawing through his net. Intermittently he came up from chewing to spit bloody loogies at the ground.

"You aren't afraid." It was a statement, more than a question.

Beast lifted his head and scrubbed at his sweaty brow with the back of a green hand. Despite the cloud that refused to move, the land was deep in the throes of summer and the air was uncomfortably warm. "Why would I be? You're one of us."

"Us?" The voice was incredulous.

"Well, yeah. You reek of magic." He raised his face to the sky and flared his nostrils, eyes shut tight in concentration. "Enchanted… or… Bewitched?"

"Bewitched." Came the hoarse reply.

"Tough break, man. Human?"

"At one time. How did you know I wasn't a troll?"

He shifted his knees to shake out his feet and reintroduce blood flow to his dangling limbs. The green boy kept his eyes closed as he raised a finger to tap the side of his nose, and then winced for the effort.

"The nose knows. If you were a troll you'd smell like rotten apples and bad meat." His small frame shuddered at the thought. "Everyone like us smells like some kind of apple. Couldn't tell ya why. We just do."

"Interesting."

"Besides," he continued, "if you were a troll I'd already be dead by now. Trolls aren't much for talking, and I present an easy meal as I am." He swept his hands across his lap for emphasis of his helpless position.

The voice was quiet a long time. Beast cracked an eye open. "Well, if you don't mind, I'm gonna get back to saving my—yeep!"

The elf's world spun as he was shaken violently. A great cracking noise above his head had the boy scrambling to curl into the tightest defensive ball he could muster. He let out another unmanly squeak as his behind met damp rock and his body came to a shuddering stop. Beast kept his arms wrapped firmly over his eyes as he heard a terrible ripping sound.

Then everything was still. The only sound the rapid thumping of his heartbeat pounding in his ears. Finally, he worked up the nerve to peek between his forearms.

A huge face peered back at him, half darkly tanned skin the color of sunbaked chocolate, the other half a craggy mass of grey stone. One hazel eye squinted at him while the other glowed red like embers.

"Do you fear me now?" The rock man fought to keep his tone aloof, though Beast detected the faint twinge of bitterness to the question.

The green boy let his arms fall to either side of his hips, a slow smile drew his lips upwards until both fangs peeked out. In a flash of surprising speed the elf was up and darting about his enormous feet. Ebony claws reached out to tap against serrated stone that had once been the man's ribs. A second later he appeared on his other side peering through the glowing crystals adorning a kneecap. All the while a steady stream of 'ooh's' and 'ah's' followed in his wake.

Beast's breathy sigh near his ear caused him to jerk. How the boy had managed to climb up on to his shoulder without him knowing was beyond him. "You. Are. So. Awesome."

"'Beg your pardon?" He strained to train his human eye on the boy, barely a slip of green in his peripheral vision. His hands dangled over his shoulders limply.

The hands lifted and swept outward in dramatic fashion. "You're awesome, man! I mean, you got this killer cool body, and those wicked-looking crystals, and the glowy blue vein stuff, and, and…" Green eyes blinked rapidly at him, confusion scrunching his features. "What?"

"How are you not scared of… of…," he gestured to himself, jangling the elf around in the process. "…_this_?!"

Beast hung on gamely until the movement ceased. The moment things were still he reached up to scratch his chin, ebony claws flashing in the sunlight. "You didn't eat me, you freed me, and you're magic kin. Why should I be scared?"

The stone man looked utterly flummoxed. Clearly, the conversation hadn't gone as expected. "Because! Because… I'm… big?"

Even he seemed a little embarrassed at the weakness of his argument. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand absently, stone groaned quietly against stone at the contact.

"So? I've got fangs." He lifted a hand to prod at a pearlescent canine with the pad of his finger. "And claws." He stretched his arms outward to flex his fingers under the stone man's nose. "Er, well okay, they're normally sharper than this but, still, claws." Beast's cheeks turned ruddy under the rush of blood. "Y-you know what I mean. I swear, normally they look pretty scary!"

Despite himself, the man grinned at his ridiculous babbling. He certainly was a strange little elf, but somehow, he couldn't seem to find the will to mind.

"Yeah. I get that a lot. My lady says that 'Strange' should be my middle name." He giggled, running a hand through his shaggy green hair. "Or 'Ignoramus'. But that's for something else."

Now it was the man's turn to blush. He hadn't meant to say such things out loud. He wondered if he had spent too much time in isolation. His conversational skills were atrocious!

Beast continued on mindlessly, his head swiveled around to regard the stone man's human eye. "Speaking of names, I'm Beast."

A skinny green hand extended out from where he dangled casually from the shoulder of a rock titan. Hesitantly, the man reached up with the hand opposite the boy and gently bobbed his palm between thumb and forefinger.

"Stone."


End file.
